The United States and France both reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion during a meeting in the French capital.
Speaking at a joint news conference at the Elysée in Paris on Saturday, President Joe Biden warned that Vladimir Putin “would not stop” at Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron, in turn, praised the loyalty of his American counterpart to Europe.
“All of Europe will be under threat, we are not going to allow that to happen,” Biden said during his state visit to France. “The United States stands firmly with Ukraine. We will not move away, I repeat.
Macron then told Biden in front of reporters: “I thank you, Mr. President, for being the president of the world’s leading power, but for doing so with the loyalty of a partner who loves and respects Europeans.”
The American president has been in France since Wednesday to participate in the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the war. D-Day landings which changed the course of World War II.
On Friday, Biden and Macron met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris, pledging their support for Ukraine.
In a statement released by the White House on Saturday, French and American leaders said they agreed that broader security across the Atlantic was at stake in Russia’s war.
“France and the United States will co-chair the artillery coalition within the Defense Contact Group in Ukraine and intend to take further steps to provide the necessary support to Ukraine in the current phase and in the longer term. term,” the statement said, referring to a coalition. of around fifty countries that meet regularly to discuss Ukraine’s security needs.
The United States and France also reaffirmed their commitment to “providing continued political, security, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine,” the statement said.
Shared objectives, divergent strategy
Speaking to Al Jazeera, former US ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker said Washington and Paris both sought “to ensure Ukraine’s survival as a sovereign and independent European democracy.”
He added that the countries are also united in their desire to end “Putin’s ideology of re-establishing an empire and denying the existence of the Ukrainian people.”
However, the former diplomat said nations differ on how to achieve their goals.
“The United States has been very cautious, very concerned about escalation and very concerned about the possibility of pushing Putin,” Volker said.
“Macron, more recently, has pushed the limits. He discussed what more could be done to help Ukraine, including the possibility of helping it regulate its air defense by sending trainers on the ground to Ukraine.”
Macron said Friday that he had discussed such a plan with NATO leaders, with some agreeing to join the effort. This would be finalized “in the coming days,” he said.
The United States has strongly opposed having any of its personnel on the ground in Ukraine, a position that has remained unchanged since Russia’s invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
Biden and Macron also discussed their support for using interest earned on frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, a move that drew skepticism from some European G7 allies.
“We are still there”
Ukrainian forces, long under-armed by Russia, have struggled to maintain pressure against Russia along the 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) front line in recent months. This occurred as support from Western allies waned.
kyiv has nevertheless received a boost in recent weeks, with France and Germany authorizing Ukraine at the end of May to use the weapons they supplied against targets on Russian soil.
The United States quickly followed suit, give permission to Ukraine to use weapons supplied by Washington on Russian territory near Kharkiv.
In Paris on Friday, Biden apologized to Zelensky for earlier delays in Washington’s aid to kyiv, emphasizing that the United States “will not give up” on its support for Ukraine.
“We’re still at it – completely, fully,” he said.
